Several weeks ago I managed to break my nose while kayaking in Idaho. I flipped over in the middle of a rapid and conveniently placed my face right in the center of a solid piece of basalt. It was fairly minor as far as broken noses are concerned, but it was enough to convince me that it was time for a fullface helmet (after all, if I don’t have my nose, what do I have?) So for the past few weeks I’ve ditched my standard whitewater helmet and been paddling with a full-faced, nose-saving brain bucket from Park City-based WRSI.
The Moment is WRSI’s “first all-out fullface creeking helmet.” I’ve been using a WRSI helmet (without a fullface) for the past couple years and I’ve always been a fan. Their helmets are extremely durable and latch onto your noggin like super glue, ensuring that your head is always going to stay covered even if it takes a big hit (some helmets have a tendency to slide back and expose your forehead on impact).
The WRSI Moment has a beautiful design and a super sturdy chin guard. It also has an extended visor that will keep your face even further from whatever rock you end up placing it on. My only beef with the helmet is the padding. The padding is secured to the helmet’s plastic with several flimsy strips of Velcro. As soon as I pulled the helmet out of the box and tried to adjust the padding I noticed that none of the Velcro strips stay on the helmet very well. The adhesive is pretty weak. Granted, I don’t normally have to adjust the padding very often, but I would have expected more from a new piece of equipment, especially since my previous WRSI helmet did not have the same problem.
Where I can see this really being an issue is around the chin guard, which also uses this same padding and adhesive. The padding will occasionally fly off and get in your face if flushed with enough water. Taking a roll in a big hole could fling it into your field of vision. Not exactly what you want to be dealing with in the middle of Class V whitewater. Super gluing or duct taping the padding in place can fix the issue, but that’s not usually something I expect to do with new gear.
Overall, it’s a great product for the money and I’m happy to have it. I’d like to keep my nose as straight as I can for as long as possible, and the WRSI Moment should be tough enough to do the job.